Gregory Grills RNC’s Priebus: Is GOP Trying to Bully Clinton into Not Running?

On Meet the Press Sunday morning, host David Gregory grilled RNC Chairman Reince Priebus over Karl Rove’s recent musings on Hillary Clinton’s cognitive status following a 2011 concussion, asking if Priebus thought the comments might backfire on the party, and whether the GOP’s “mission” was to persuade Clinton not to run.

“I’m not a doctor,” Priebus said. “What I do know is the issue will come up as it does for any person running for president. What I think is going to make her rethink whether she should actually run for president — by the way, I don’t actually think she will, if she has another month like she just had —”

“That what I want to follow up on,” Gregory said. “Is the mission to persuade her not to run?”

“It’s not the mission,” Priebus replied. “But she’s coming out with a book called Hard Choices or something like that. She’s made a series of bad choices. …Benghazi shouldn’t be swept under the rug; four diplomats have died. Boko Haram: these people have over 200 girls in Nigeria. The Syria issue.”

“My view, though, is given the month she just had, I actually doubt whether or not she will run for president in 2016,” Priebus continued. “I know a lot of people around her want her to run, and I think that they’re purposely creating this environment around here which is causing us to talk about her today.”